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Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: A variety of space news topics and projects were discussed on this two hour program. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed back Bob Zimmerman to the show for this 122 minute discussion on a wide range and variety of space news and project topics. During the first segment, Bob spoke about Virgin Galactic and Launcher One delays, comparing it to the recent news that the AF will soon be testing a small satellite rail gun launcher, Super Strypi. Bob suggested that the market might be passing VG by. He also spoke to suborbital space both with VG and XCOR and true to form, was still skeptical about their potential success. Some of Bob’s comments were challenged by listeners later in the show so stay tuned. Next up Bob talked about the Russians opening up ISS tourism again in 2018 saying that the Russians believe the American private sector will be successful in transporting astronauts to and from the ISS by then so they will have available seats for tourists. Don’t miss his comments on this subject. He was asked about XCOR and he offered more comments on the company and suborbital space in general. He then turned to the current round of ISS cargo bidding and compared it to the first round of cargo bidding a decade ago. His comparison was most interesting and goes to the success being made by the developing commercial space sector. Marshall was our first caller and talked about the next big planetary or HSF mission. He also wanted Bob to discuss colonization. Bob said he supported it but was realistic. Bob then spoke about both the new Russian spaceport Vostochny and compared it to the progress being made by SpaceX and their new Brownsville spaceport. He had much to say on this. A listener emailed him to explain the space policy position of Sen. Ted Cruz. That turned out to be quite a discussion, including Bob opining once again on SLS. Becky in Florida asked Bob about Mars One and Bob said it was a boondoggle.

In the second segment, Dr. Charles Lurio was our first caller. Charles wanted to take Bob behind the woodshed on three points: First, his comments on Kistler were wrong as the company was Rocketplane Kistler plus other details Bob missed. Second, he said Excalibur Almaz was not a fraud. This resulted in quite the exchange with Bob. The third area that upset Charles the most dealt with the comments Bob made about XCOR. Charles was determined to correct the record on XCOR so again, don’t miss this exchange. I asked Bob about the Indian space program and specifically their human spaceflight program. Jerry from Florida emailed in additional info on Rocketplane Kistler. SLS John called in to argue with Bob on his SLS comments. I call their argument a draw with all participants including myself saying what we have been saying about SLS for years. The subject of presidential leadership came up and Bob did his best to point out that it was probably a myth as far as space goes plus he cited supporting examples. I pointed out that more than likely our next president, regardless of party, would have their hands full of solving major problems and I cited education as an example, referencing a recent survey I had seen showing just how poorly the US ranks worldwide in several educational areas. This opened up a STEM discussion with Tim in Huntsville and Bob. Jerry from Florida emailed in data showing that the Falcon Heavy would have more capability than SLS block one according to comments made by Ms. Shotwell at Satellite 2015. This opened up another discussion on SLS, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Here is an Aviation Week article that summarizes the comments Shotwell made at the event: http://aviationweek.com/blog/spacexs-gwynne-shotwell-talks-raptor-falcon-9-crs-2-satellite-internet-and-more. Thanks to Jerry for providing us with this information and the article. As the show was ending, Bob identified areas to watch for the second quarter and the balance of the year.

Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. Bob can be reached through me or his email address provided in his bio posted on the archives on TSS website.

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Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Wide ranging space program & commercial space policy & project discussions. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the show to discuss a variety of space news items and events. During the first segment of our 2 hour 2 minute show, Bob opened up talking about Comet 67P, the Rosetta mission, and the Philae lander which will land on the comet on Nov. 12, 2014. Bob spent some time describing 67P, the lander, the landing site, and the topography of the landing zone. Next, I asked Bob about the recent court decisions in Italy regarding the appeals court decision on the seven scientists accused of incorrectly predicting an earthquake that led to lots of damage and death. Bob clarified the issues for us and the decision of the appeals court. We talked some about the possible impact on space policy for the recently held mid-term elections. Bob was asked by a listener if he thought the election result would lead to the cancellation of SLS as well as the NASA ARM project. See if you are surprised by Bob’s analysis. Ken in San Diego asked Bob about negative press articles regarding stopping space tourism in light of the SpaceShipTwo accident. The USA Today editorial of today was cited as an example. Bob did not think these articles would have any serious or long lasting impact and had much to say about the authors and publications writing them. Before our break, Rob in Denver emailed in about Comet Siding Spring changing the Martian atmosphere when it swung by Mars.

In the second segment, Jeff emailed in about comments that Virgin has said it would be flying by April. Bob was very skeptical about that timeline. He had much to say about the investment and more regarding Virgin. Bob then spoke about the upcoming Orion test flight set for Dec. 4 and heat shield issues. Our guest spent some time dwelling on the heat shield issues which he said helped make his case that SLS/Orion were not sustainable projects. Ben called from Orange County to talk with Bob about the Bigelow module going to the ISS in 2016, then they talked a bit about solar sales. Ed emailed Bob to see if he knew what alternative launcher Orbital might choose given the Antares problems. Bob spoke about the upcoming Russian rocket test for the new Angara 5 rocket. SLS John called in about earlier comments Bob made regarding the Saturn 5, then they talked about SLS.

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Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space news events and updates on a variety of current topics. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed back Bob Zimmerman to discuss current and hot topics happening in space at this time. During the first segment of our 2 hour 6 minute discussion, Bob asked me about the recent Bay Area-NAPA earthquake on Sunday morning, August 24, then we switched over to space topics starting with SpaceX and the Falcon 9R test launch explosion. Next, Bob talked about the failure of the ESA Galileo GPS launch involving the Soyuz-Arianne. Several questions came up regarding the ESA GPS system. We also talked about other regional GPS systems. Bob moved us to the launch failure (booster rocket) for the Air Force Hypersonic vehicle, then to the decision by Sea Launch to take a break. Bob had much to say about the Sea Launch partnership now involving mostly Russia and the Ukraine. Russia and the ISS came up and here Bob also had much to say, including going over the news that Russia may now be interested in extending the life of the ISS. Bob suggested some important Russian reasons for wanting to do this, see what you think. The Atlas RD-180 rocket engine came up for discussion as did the upcoming NASA down select for commercial crew with Dream Chaser, SpaceX, and Boeing with their CST 100. Next up was SLS which I permitted to be discussed for a while, including a call by SLS John in Ft. Worth, then I stopped it and said that SLS was a beaten to death topic on the show and that listeners and I were sick of it. I said no more SLS talk unless there was something new on one side or the other of the SLS issue. At one point I even assigned SLS John a new topic to research and call in about. Let us know with your blog comments, are you sick of SLS discussions on TSS? Do you want to keep hearing them or not? Luis emailed in about having GPS redundancy and backup systems re the European system as an example. Bob had specific ideas about this but thought the better route would be to be able to quickly replace a lost or destroyed satellite. As the segment neared its end, Joe asked about CST and Falcon 9/Heavy & Bob had more to say about ISS modules & Doug asked a series of questions about the benefits of extending ISS to 2028. Don’t miss Bob’s response.

In the second segment, Joe asked about small sats taking over market share from the previous big satellites. Bob provided an interesting short discussion on this topic. SLS John called back about the Falcon Heavy flying and then somehow the discussion focused in on presidential candidates and their space policy in upcoming elections. After a short non-partisan review of what Bob thought might unfold depending on which party wins in November, we moved on to Rosetta and 67 P. Bob talked about the lander and the landing sites. Tim called in to talk about a proposal announced for space debris tracking with Lockheed and Electro Optic Systems in Australia (see http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/august/0825-ss-electro.html). Also discussed was nuclear propulsion, the Space Fence, then we got emails about fusion energy progress. Near the end of the program, Bob talked about Curiosity, some of the electrical issues with using the on board drill, and of course the tire problem. As the show was about to end, Kirk emailed about the recent Chinese ASAT test and Bob suggested we look for an end of the year Dragon abort test, another Falcon 9 flight and more flight tests, and the Rosetta landing on 67 P scheduled for November.

Please post your comments/questions on TSS Blog above. You can email Bob through me or his address through his blog, http://behindtheblack.com.

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Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Russian space industry, SpaceX, Orbital, suborbital and much more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the show for this 2 hour 8 minute discussion. During the first segment, Bob focused on the Russians gearing up to leave Baikonur, putting more and more of their space industry back under government control, plus their upcoming first test flight and launch of the Angara rocket which has been in development for 20 years or so. We addressed issues from the Russian perspective and the US perspective, talked about the ISS beyond 2020, and the fact that Russia has again said they are not interested in doing space tourism to the Moon, disavowing plans to send two tourists around the Moon despite the rumors that keep appearing. We then talked about the Falcon 9 delays and issues. Bob also explained what was behind the Orbital delay for the next Cygnus/Antares launch which will now take place in July. Evidently there are issues with the Russian rocket motor used by this launcher. The idea that the US will build a new domestic version of the Russian RD-180 engine was discussed with more questions being asked than answered. SpaceX getting USAF certification was also talked about in this segment.

In our second segment, we talked about the Chinese lunar rover, Yutu, which is still alive. Bob had much to say in this update. The issue over the NASA and NOAA climate change ground data was discussed in light of the recent news stories suggesting the data was corrupted. Bob explained the use of raw data, why it is being said that the data was corrupted or possibly manipulated. He provided the website sources for this information as did caller Tim. We also talked about the latest radar images coming from Titan which seem to show an island that appears and then disappears in a methane lake. We got a question from Tony about rockets in Australia and Trent answered the questions for us via chat. Trent said the engineers and others get training in Australia, then leave the country. Trent also shared news with us about the recent Falcon 9 launch delays and reported that Arianespace said it would price compete with Falcon 9 launches. Noted space journalist Peter B. de Selding tweeted this from the Arianespace CEO: “Arianespace CEO: Our decision to cut prices to match SpaceX has resulted in handful of contracts already, to be announced in coming weeks.” See https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/481482483792609280. Don’t forget to visit Bob’s blog, http://behindtheblack.com.

Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. You can reach Bob through his blog or me.

If you are listening to archives & rating programs on live365.com, email me the reasons for your rating to help improve the show

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Russia-NASA space relationship with sanctions, ISS, SpaceX, Air Force & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the program to discuss the issues facing the U.S. and Russia as a result of the Russian aggression in the Crimea & the Ukraine and in light of U.S. sanctions against Russia for this aggression. We discussed possible interruptions regarding the ISS, ongoing Soyuz flights for American astronauts, continued purchases of the RD-180 engine for the Atlas rocket and the N-33 for the Orbital Antares rocket. We discussed side issues relative to these big picture issues as well. In the first segment of this 2 hour 5 minute show, Bob explained the Russia-NASA space relationship from his perspective. We talked about there being a probable low risk that the parties we would quit cooperating with one another on the ISS but more of our attention in this segment was focused on the Atlas rocket and the use of the RD-180 engine which is a Russian engine. This focus was largely the result of our first phone call from Kelly and as you will hear, Bob and Kelly did not always see eye to eye on the issue and they both seemed to enjoy talking at the same time. For the record, when that happens, as the show host, its nearly impossible to get words or comments to stop them until at least one person stops talking. This is an artifact of the use of a cell phone and the loss of full duplex voice exchange. The issues discussed in this segment regarding the Ukraine and the RD-180 were also carried forward to the second segment as well. Bob thought there might be a silver lining in all this in that it might be waking up important segments here in America and forcing the space industry to stop being so dependent on Russia and building up our commercial space industry. Also discussed in this segment was the Orbital Antares which uses the Russian N-33 engine. The upcoming Orbital and ATK merger was part of our discussion and the possible replacement of the N-33 with an ATK solid rocket motor for the first stage.

In the second segment, John from Ft. Worth called in regarding the Ukrainian issue . He also talked about possible U.S. government waivers for the engines. Fast tracking the Dragon came up and then email listeners started asking Bob if Orion could be fast tracked. Bob made his usual comments on SLS and Orion, Lockheed. His favorite word for the night was PORK. Had it been the secret word where you win a hundred dollars every time you mention PORK, Bob would have cleaned up. Kelly emailed us to remind everyone that Putin considers the RD-180 a national treasure and may stop the sales of it anyway. Doug sent in emails asking about Falcon Heavy missions as compared to SLS missions. Bob said Falcon Heavy could do everything SLS could do and cheaper, even if it required multiple launches as he does not think SLS will fly and the flight profile for SLS at 1 launch every 3-4 years is not sustainable. Doug also inquired about reusability, ULA, Boeing, & Lockheed because using it might drop their overall price since the government would likely not pay substantially more than a commercial company for the same launch. I think I will honor Bob the next time he comes on the show with new bumper music, this time from Annie Get Your Gun with the song “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better sung by Bette Hutton and Howard Keel. All we need is a Space Show listener with talent to substitute a few key words in the song to be relevant to Bob, Doug and others re Falcon Heavy, SpaceX, SLS, Orion, the private sector, government space, etc. For those of you too young to remember Annie Get Your Gun and this famous song, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO23WBji_Z0. Tony called about Russian cultural issues and SpaceX, then we got the call of the night in my opinion from Ben in New Jersey. Ben pointed out that “the basic strategic driver for Russia in Crimea is that well over 90% of the fresh water and electricity needed in Crimea comes from the Kherson region of Ukraine. Fresh water supply from Ukraine to Crimea has already been shut down. Crimea has only 30 days of fresh water left. There are rolling blackouts, as the electrical supply is also low. Russia cannot allow this to continue.” Ben continued to offer his analysis which you will find most interesting. By the way, if you are not familiar with the geography of the Ukraine and Crimea, here is a good reference map of the region: http://www.businessinsider.com/map-ukraine-threats-from-russia-2014-5#!J0srL. Ben continued with his analysis and Bob and I picked his brain for his idea of the outcome of the disputes. Both Bob & Ben thought Russia has some natural constraints so they are likely only to take the easier “low hanging fruits” as they will avoid an all out and bloody conflict. At other times during the segment, other listeners suggested that the situation will ease over time and that the space issues will also be eased. Bob said over and over again that he did not believe Russia wanted to lose its commercial space revenue and this would probably be a constraint on his behavior. At different times during both segments, the SpaceX lawsuit was discussed but mostly in the context of the national security issues pertaining to Russia, NASA and our space policy and relationship.

If you are listening to archives & rating programs on live365.com, email me the reasons for your rating to help improve the show

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: A variety of space news and projects discussed, including space policy. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.

We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the program for a discussion on a variety of space new and policy topics. During our first segment of our 2 hour 5 minute show, we talked about the U.S. sanctions against Russia for their behavior in the Crimea/Ukrainian region and the instructions to NASA to halt all activity with Russia on space issues other than what is related to the ISS. As Bob pointed out about 98% of space activity with Russia is ISS oriented so Bob said the sanctions did not amount to much. He then talked policy, the idea that Russia wants its own space station and breaking the ISS agreement. He said nations break agreements like this all the time and cited our pulling of the EXOMARS agreements with Europe as an example. He then told us about the PLATO multi optical telescope being built in Europe for looking at exoplanets. Next, listeners wanted to talk with him about the upcoming Falcon 9 launch and reusability. Bob had much to say on the launch, the delay, and first stage reusability. Philip emailed in from New Brunswick about the Russians largely sticking to themselves on station. Bob spoke to cultural difference with the Russians, language issues, and said that they tended to their own experiments as we do our experiments. He also said the Russians need to keep the ISS going and need us to stay with it. Virgin Galactic was discussed and Bob went over some the test, engine, and personnel changes in recent times. A listener emailed in about a Fox News Show over the past few weeks in which space made up part of the show. The Fox News panel seemed to be traditional in nature and felt our space program was a mess and declining. Bob spoke to his usual position in that he does not want any government space program. Tony called from Seattle to talk more about reusability & the problems with the SpaceX first effort on this on a prior launch.

In the second segment, we mentioned the role of satellites in looking for Flight 370 and Bob talked about rescuing people and such programs in general. We asked for suggestions for new space topics for discussion and Bob himself suggested underground oceans on Enceladus & LADEE’s results from the Moon for lunar dust experiments. We talked about the emerging cubesat industry, Dream Chaser, then near the end of the show, I asked Bob for an update on the White Nose bat fungus problem. We talked about the possibility of space being a topic in the 2014 congressional elections and Bob spent lots of time telling us all why SLS was no good. Visit his website, http://www.behindtheblack.com.

Please post comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can reach Bob through me or his email address at the end of his bio.

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: launch competition, commercial space, China, gov. space programs, budget issues. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.

We welcomed back Bob Zimmerman for his Tenth Anniversary Space Show program! During the first segment of this two hour two minute program, Bob addressed many issues and listener concerns starting with the SpaceX Falcon 9 GEO launch success & the looking back to his first Space Show program on Dec. 3, 2003. He compared and contrasted his comments then to those today. He also blogged about this on his Behindtheblack.com blog at http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/exciting-times-in-space. Listeners expressed their concern about the Chinese space program, their recent lunar landing mission and the day when they can put a human on the Moon. Listeners wanted to know if this would spark a new space race between China and the U.S. Bob said no and I agreed with him for slightly different reasons. However, one of Bob’s consistent and recurring themes (and tonight’s discussion was no different) is that he opposes large government space programs as he says they don’t work. He provided much evidence for this during our discussion. During this segment we also talked extensively about launch competition and the benefits from competition in the marketplace. Listener Al asked about DOD space and if DOD might see the Chinese space program differently. Bob also mentioned space property rights and he said the existing situation should change based on U.S. law as the model for commercial space to flourish. There was more talk about the Chinese program which Bob was not too concerned about. Listen for his reasoning. John in Ft. Worth called in to also talk about the Chinese program and suggested at some point their success might just humiliate the U.S. into competitive action. Neither Bob or I thought it was likely that anything would humiliate congress today. John and Bob then had an interesting discussion on this subject.

In Part 2 of our program, Dr. Lurio called in to talk about being thrilled to the bone by the SpaceX launch and to comment on NewSpace & commercial space issues. Like Bob, he opposes SLS as a big waste. Bob and Charles then talked about their distaste for large gov. programs such as what JFK created, again saying they don’t work. Both wondered what space and other things would look like today had JFK not been assassinated. Dream Chaser was mentioned, again as everyone’s favorite spacecraft. Al emailed in again to point out the differences in the space perspective of seniors and young people. Tim called in to mention the Code of Conduct issue with possible international launch standards and how this might hurt the developing US commercial launch business. I mentioned a Business Week article saying the suborbitals are going to look to R&D flights for repeat customers which they definitely need. Here is the article: www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-27/spaceflight-companies-virgin-galactic-xcor-blue-origin-eye-r-and-d-clients. Toward the end of the program there was more talk about SLS, NASA budget issues, the need to cancel SLS per Bob’s perspective, and economic risks posed to NASA’s planetary science program. Bob closed out the program with his comments on Inspiration Mars and Mars One, plus a Von Braun comment from 1954 in which it was reported that he said it would take 100 years of research in space to travel to Mars. Bob said its been 60 years so far and we do not have the capability to do a human flight to Mars today. Lurio mailed in the last comment about the NASA press conference earlier in the day with his and Bob’s reading that the planetary program was all but dead financially. The final comments dealt with SLS and the Redirect Mission which Bob completely discounted.

Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Contact Bob through his blog or zimmerman at nasw dot org.

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: This was a wide ranging discussion starting with climate change & ending with budget, CR, & commercial crew issues. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.

We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the show for this one hour 55 minute discussion starting with the announcement regarding climate change and the upcoming IPCC report which has been leaked to the press. The primary topic for this first segment was climate change, the leaked IPCC report and an analysis of it. Bob fielded listener comments and questions including Marshall’s who had hands on experience with the very first computer climate model in the early 70’s. Bob summarized all his comments saying that science needed to be skeptical and he was optimistic that skepticism was coming back to the field of climate science. We then switched to space and NASA for the balance of this program. As a transition, Bob talked about solar activity and the solar max. In response to a listener question, he commented that if Mars or anyplace in space were developed using the Antarctica model, it would doom commercial space activity. He stated over and over again that the model needed was the profit model for space and planetary development.

In the second segment, we talked about new commercial contracts for Arianne 5 recently announced, and how important these were to Arianne who needs to show a profit for the first time. I asked Bob about NASA’s Redirect Asteroid Mission given all the attention it got last week at AIAA Space 2013. Bob had much to say about this mission, most of it not supportive or positive, and then I mentioned the NASA press conference which is archived as part of the Space 2013 taped interviews and the fact that it is to be SLS dependent. This started Bob and others on SLS rants, mostly not supportive of it, and also Orion. Bob was emphatic that Orion with SLS would not be a deep space mission & at one point he cited comments by Russian that their next generation Soyuz would have bathroom facilities on board and Bob said with Orion, it was strictly diapers for the crew. We talked about Inspiration Mars and Mars One. Bob was skeptical about both happening. Listen to the reasons he cited for his perspective. Bob also talked about Bigelow Aerospace and its potential, listeners asked about Planetary Resources and the Redirect Mission, then we talked about the need to lower the launch costs to LEO. Bob brought us current with SpaceShip2 & the latest powered demo flight, then John called in to argue about SLS with Bob. This was an interesting give and take. As Bob has done on other programs, he continued saying he does not want a space program which is a government program which in his eyes is doomed to failure. He wants the private sector to prevail. As the show was ending, I asked Bob for this thoughts on the budget, CR, and future commercial crew funding .

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Check out Bob’s website, www.beyondtheblack.com. You can email bob through is website or using zimmerman at nasw dot org

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Commercial space, regulations, climate science, becoming spacefaring. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information.

We welcomed Robert (Bob) Zimmerman to the program (www.behindtheblack.com). During our 2 hour 3 minute discussion with Bob, we covered a wide area of space, policy, budget and climate science issues. For those of you interested in the opportunity to submit feedback on the NRC congressionally mandated Human Spaceflight Study, please go to www.nationalacademies.org/humanspaceflight. Bob started out talking about the Commercial Space Launch Act of 2004 and his warnings back then about a heavily regulated commercial and NewSpace industry coming out of this particular legislation. He has now reported on the evolution of regulation for this segment of the industry. See this article on his blog, http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/the-red-tape-of-the-space-bureaucracy. He strongly suggested that the focus was misplaced on excessive safety. Instead, it should be on risk taking, innovation, and experimental flight. We also mentioned possible ITAR changes in which human spaceflight vehicles are being considered for addition to the munitions list. Were this to happen, it might prove extremely detrimental to NewSpace companies and the American space industry. Pooley both emailed and called the show to stress starting small and with non-human spaceflight missions. Bob and Charles had an interesting exchange on this subject you will want to hear. Later in the segment, Bob talked about SpaceX and launch rates, comparing the Falcon with the Russian Proton. We talked about the need for reliable commercial schedules for a launcher to be considered commercial. We also talked about the successful Orbital Sciences Antares demo flight, ULA and their schedules, plus Arianespace. Bob then commented on the first powered demo flight for Virgin, then Tim from Huntsville called in to talk abut SpaceX, a possible IPO, Bob’s comments on NASA assimilation, and the Planetary Resources Kickstarter campaign.

In our second segment, we started with another Pooley email stressing the need to start small & without human spaceflight. I then asked Bob what he thought of the prospect of continuing to fund & develop SLS. He said it was on the knife’s edge and to the degree that SpaceX, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon, and Orbital can be successful, it will likely hasten the demise of SLS. Bob then spoke to the bulkhead cracks with the Orion, their repairs and the recent successful Orion test. Sequestration was next up with Bob having much to say on the subject. Our next big topic had to do with climate science which I introduced with my perspective of it here in the U.S. and what I know about what is going on in the field in the UK and throughout Europe. Bob talked about climate models and referenced the work by Roy Spencer who depicts in graph format all 72 climate models referenced by the industry (see www.drroyspencer.com/2013/06/still-epic-fail-73-climate-models-vs-measurements-running-5-year-means). Bob dealt with many climate science issues so if this topic interests you, don’t miss this discussion. Later, we talked about the Chinese spacecraft now in orbit for about a two week HSF mission. Also discussed was the JWST and its impact on NASA astrophysics budget issues, the Kepler Space Telescope, and our on orbit repair capabilities. Both Bob & I used JWST and Kepler as examples of why we need to develop a true spacefaring capability though being able to repair hardware so far out in space is not going to happen for a very long time, if ever.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Bob through his blog or by using zimmerman at nasw dot org.

Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space news, company updates, and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information.

We welcomes Bob Zimmerman back for a two hour wide ranging discussion on space news, company updates, sequestration, policy, and more. Be sure to check out his blog, http://behindtheblack.com. Bob started out talking about the e-book release of his book, “Genesis, The Story of Apollo 8.” He then talked about the upcoming Falcon 9 launches, their importance and significance. Bob mentioned ILS and the Proton rocket which is having its problems causing insurance rates to rise. He said the Russians will absorb all insurance cost increases to keep Proton at a price advantage point. This opened the door to a discussion about SpaceX and price competiveness in the launch industry. Bob switched gears to the suborbitals and said we should be seeing Virgin powered tests soon. He also talked about Stratolaunch per a recent Parabolic Arc article. Bob was talking reusability and the RLV so I asked him if he was aware of economic analysis and data that was not supportive of an RLV short of a substantial increase in launch demand. Bob had much to say about this with his opinion. The RLV economic issue continued to be discussed in both segments of our program. Tim called in about it as well. We talked about Sen. Rubio and his budget amendment suggesting NASA divest itself of unused assets & use the saved money for commercial space. Bob then brought up sequestration and the announcement that NASA will be shutting down all public outreach but they will keep their PR arm going for their projects and missions. We also mentioned Sarah Brightman and both her ISS and Virgin space tourism efforts. Near the close of this segment, Inspiration Mars was discussed and as you will hear, Bob is skeptical, citing human factors & other reasons for his opinion. Larry asked about North Korean rockets and threats to the U.S. west coast. Bob said he took them seriously though their rocket was not yet ready for prime time. Bob also threw in Iranian rockets and threats and said he was more concerned about advances by Iran than N. Korea at this time.

In segment two, we talked about both the science side of NASA and the HSF side. I’m sure you will find the comparison and mission summaries of interest. John called in from Atlanta to raise yet again the question of reusability. He thought it would be enhanced with the use of orbiting fuel depots. Bob was skeptical. Don’t miss this discussion. I asked both Bob and John about Inspiration Mars, Jim emailed in a comment about Falcon 1 relative to comments being made by Bob, and we talked about the upcoming Orbital Sciences Antares launch. We got into the subject of risk taking and Bob and I talked about mining risks as well as caving risks. As Bob is an accomplished caver, he had much to say about both mining and caving. Near the end, we got a call about various spaceports in different states and spaceport commercial success so far. Bob concluded saying that we are in an unstable world which could absolutely adversely impact all aspects of space and commercial space development and progress.